Dear Soldiers of the Cross,
Spring has sprung and we are excited to be getting back on the road and spreading the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. There’s nothing better than putting the Gospel into the hands and ears of people and seeing the Holy Spirit do a work in their hearts. Thank you, Lord, for allowing me to be a part of sowing the Word on the mission field.
Ms Sheril and I had a wonderful time traveling out to Great Bend, Kansas, to attend the Native American Mission Meeting at First Bible Baptist Church. We enjoyed seeing old friends, as well as meeting new missionaries. Please pray for our missionaries as they labor among our Native people. So many of them have great trials — physical, spiritual and financial. You are needed greatly to stand with us in the ministry.
On April 30th I flew out to California to visit the Fort Mojave Reservation and also the Chemehuevi Reservation. They have a nondenominational church on the Chemehuevi Reservation. Please help us pray that we might be able to start a Baptist VBS on this reservation. The Lord opened a door of opportunity for us to preach and to set up a VBS for this summer on the Fort Mojave Reservation. We have another Native church that’s going to help us with this VBS. Praise the Lord!
I preached on the Fort Mojave Reservation on May 4th, and around 4:00 am on May 5th, I drove myself five miles from my motel in Needles, California, to the Valley View Medical Center in Fort Mojave, Arizona, where I was examined and discovered that I had had a light heart attack. I spent two days in the hospital undergoing more testing. They also diagnosed me with congestive heart failure. My doctor advised me not to fly home, so my two sons, Corey and Keith, flew out and drove me home. My original plans were to visit other reservations in Nevada and then fly up to Washington State to tie up some loose ends on my VBS’s on the Kalispel and Spokane Reservations. Well, now, here I am at home, waiting to see a cardiologist. The Lord has been dealing with my heart in recent months concerning “Understanding the Furnace.” I guess he wanted me to get a deeper understanding of his workings in our lives. Isaiah 48:10 “Behold, I have refined thee, but not with silver; I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.” Oh, Lord, help me to see all that you are saying to me. Please pray for me as we journey this path that the Lord has chosen for me.
We are still raising support for our John Eliot Bible Project. Please help us pray as we endeavor to do a second reprint of this historical Bible. This Bible could bring revival to the Wampanoag people.
As We Labor for Christ,
Gerry & Sheril Locklear
Missionaries to the Native Americans